The League of Women Voters in Missoula, Montana (LWVM) began in 1951. In 1952, the League of Women Voters national board recognized the league in Missoula as a local league and entitled them to the League insignia. Active founding member and local historian, Audra Browman, stated that the goal of the League of Women Voters of Missoula was to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government. The League targeted this objective through various local studies and group discussions. The league then offered this knowledge to the community through publications, newspaper articles and personally contacting people. By researching various community topics, the League attempted to be a source of non-partisan information.
The LWVM organized attendance at forums, speeches and rallies. To inform the community, they publicized their research in The Voter (the Missoula branch’s newsletter) and other publications. Generally, these studies informed voters of various issues confronting Missoula city and county residents. Some of the major issues confronting the Missoula community that the LWVM researched are the City/County Consolidation, Local Government, School Unification and Social Policies.
From the guide to the League of Women Voters of Missoula Records, 1946-1998, (University of Montana--Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
